A Bedtime Conversation
by alynwa
Summary: Part of my "Triple A" series, this takes place years after Denny's death. Alan and Adrienne are discussing their life together.


Adrienne and Alan Crane were sitting on their bedroom balcony, she sipping red wine while he had a glass of scotch and a cigar. They had been married for four years. She was a retired bounty hunter and he was now a semi – retired lawyer who took pro bono work when the mood struck him.

She looked over and noticed he was staring at her. "What?"

He puffed on his cigar and blew a stream of smoke up into the air. "I was thinking how incredibly lucky I am to be sitting here, married for the third and last time to the beloved mother of my beloved son. If someone had pitched a movie script to me about a guy who came from a dysfunctional family, fathered a child at sixteen, lost his first wife in a tragic accident, married a _man_ and then ended up marrying the mother of his child forty – one years later, I would have said no one will go see that; it's preposterous!"

"And yet, here we sit."

"Here we sit," he echoed as he refilled their glasses and then extinguished his cigar.

Adrienne raised her glass and clinked it against his. "I love you, Alan. I have always loved you. You know this."

"I do."

"Then I want you to know this: I believe we needed those forty – one years apart."

Alan snorted. "You're mad. It must be time for bed." He finished his drink. "Let's get inside."

Adrienne followed her husband into their bedroom. Six months after Denny's death, Alan had sold their suburban home and he and Adrienne had found another in another Boston suburb. True to his word, Alan had kept on all the household staff that had worked for Denny before they married and they had liked and accepted Adrienne easily.

They undressed and got into bed. After turning out the lamps, they met in the middle and hugged warmly. Alan laid on his back and Adrienne rested her head upon his chest while he idly stroked her back. "Now, I'm curious," Alan said, "Why did we need forty – one years apart?"

"Because, my love, we needed to be who we are and accomplish all that we did. We were and are very determined, goal – driven people. If we had kept Adrian and attempted to raise him ourselves, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be anywhere. We would have hated each other."

"You sound certain. You don't think our love would have overcome the obstacles in our way?"

"Do you? Honestly, Alan, think about it. If we had stayed together in Dedham, what do you think would have happened?"

Alan sighed. "Nothing good," he conceded. "We wouldn't have had the lives we did. Our son might even have grown to resent us. I can't imagine hating you or wanting you out of my life, but it could have come to that, I guess." He hugged her again and kissed her forehead. "I grew up thinking I was basically unloveable. No one ever professed love for me before you, Adrienne. And then we parted ways; permanently, or so I thought. I thought I was finally going to do things the right way when I married Cathy and when she died, I thought I would lose my mind. I promised myself that was it, I was not going to _be_ lovable or allow anyone to get close to me ever again. And then came Denny."

"God rest the dead. I loved Denny," Adrienne said, "He was so good to you. And to me. He loved you beyond all reason."

"Yes, he did. He saw through my nonsense; I couldn't fool him. He saw my flaws and loved me anyway. He trusted me. I learned to love and trust again because he loved me. I miss him every day."

It was her turn to hug and kiss him. "I know you do, Love. I wish I had known him before the Mad Cow started. Even with it, he told me that he truly believed you and I would be together after he was gone. He made me believe it. Next month is the fifth anniversary of his passing. How would you feel about doing something to commemorate him?"

Alan smiled in the dark. "I like that idea. Do you have anything in mind?"

"No, just the idea. Let's talk about it tomorrow." She settled against him again.

He rubbed her back. "Okay. Are you very tired?" he asked as his hands began to wander. "All this talk of love and loving makes me want to…show you how much I love you." As she began to respond to him, he thought, _I don't know what I did to deserve the happiness I've had for the last ten years, but I'm so blessed to have it._


End file.
